IN DEFENSE OF OUR SCHOOLS - Californiaosfm.fire.ca.gov/codedevelopment/pdf/SLTF/35. Restrict Access...
Transcript of IN DEFENSE OF OUR SCHOOLS - Californiaosfm.fire.ca.gov/codedevelopment/pdf/SLTF/35. Restrict Access...
IN DEFENSE OF OUR SCHOOLS
RESTRICTING ACCESS TO CLASSROOMS USING
DOOR LOCKS ===============================================================
NARRATIVE:
Having doors locked during an emergency is the best way to slow an intruder by
providing a barrier. This can be done in a variety of ways.
Doors may have an inside manual latch that can be flipped or pushed to lock the door
without going outside the room. In an emergency situation, a person would lock it from
inside when notified of an issue.
A panic button system can automatically lock all interior doors that would be kept closed
when the rooms are occupied. These systems would also have alarms to alert staff to
exterior doors that are left open.
If the doors can only be locked from the outside with a key, it may take too long in an
emergency to lock the door. A staff member would have to go to the hall with a key, put
it in the knob, turn it, remove it, reenter the room and shut the door before the occupants
in the room would be secure.
The solution then would be to keep the door locked at all times. This may be problematic
in elementary buildings where students and staff enter and exit during instruction
throughout the day. Students may need to be trained to knock when needing to enter a
room and others could be trained to identify the person and open the door.
Support staff could be provided with keys to enter the classrooms they access often.
Rooms that multiple staff members utilize with students or access to work, can be keyed
to work with any building key. Issues arise with areas that everyone may need to enter
such as media centers, libraries, gyms and nurse’s rooms.
Magnets in door jams have been utilized, but may not be feasible due to fire safety issues
that want doors closed and latched. There are also devices on the market that do not
allow a door to latch unless it is flipped.
Below are some examples of different options for securing the classroom doors.
School Safe
School Safe is a device which is attached to the door frame and does not allow the door to
latch. The door is left locked all day and in the event an incident occurs the device can be
flipped and the door will closed already locked.
As described on their website: School Safe is a simple, inexpensive device that installs on
a classroom door or jamb to allow the door to be easily secured in seconds from inside
IN DEFENSE OF OUR SCHOOLS
RESTRICTING ACCESS TO CLASSROOMS USING
DOOR LOCKS ===============================================================
the classroom during a lockdown emergency.
Typically, in the event of a school lockdown emergency, teachers have to go into the
hallway to lock their doors. To secure the classroom, they first need to locate their keys,
open the door, go into the hall, get the key in the lock, lock the door, come back inside
and close the door. These steps take precious time when time counts most and puts their
students and themselves at great risk of exposure to an intruder.
Cost: $7.98
Lockdown Magnet
Lockdown magnets is a magnet strip which is placed over the strike plate. The door is
left locked. When an incident occurs there is a need for the door to be locked there is no
need to go out into the hall to lock. All that needs to be done is to pull the magnetic strip
off and shut the door.
According to the information from Lockdown Magnet the Lockdown magnet makes
securing classrooms and offices faster and safer during school lockdown drills and actual
lockdowns. The Lockdown Magnet enables you to lock your door in literally seconds.
Cost: $3.25
Door Blok
The Door Blok is hooked around the inside handle of the door and around the outside
handle. This prevents the door from latching so the door can be kept locked. The Door
Blok can be removed and the door locked without going into the hallway.
Cost: $7
RESOURCES AND POTENTIAL COST NECESSARY FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
If building design is “open concept” or pod, work may need to be done to add doors.
Switching out door locks for ones that lock from the inside would require funding.
Rekeying doors to work with multiple keys could require work.
Installing a panic button system would be a major cost for a building.
IN DEFENSE OF OUR SCHOOLS
RESTRICTING ACCESS TO CLASSROOMS USING
DOOR LOCKS ===============================================================
REFERENCES:
“SOME LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE ADDING LOCKS TO CLASSROOM DOORS
SINCE SANDY HOOK SHOOTINGS”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/some-local-schools-are-adding-locks-to-
classroom-doors-since/article_17af8c3e-5b5d-56f2-b95f-47cda525921d.html
School Safe Global Innovations LLC
http://globalinnovationsco.com/products/school-safe
http://www.mastergrindingandsecurity.com/lockdown-magnets/
http://doorblok.com/index.html
SUBMITTED BY:
Kristal Leiker, Shawnee Mission School District for Working Group #2
Additions and modifications made by:
Officer Heidi Johnston OPPD
School Safe
$7.95 each
Choose device type Opens in, hinges on the left (IL)
1 Add to cart
Order this device for doors that open in to the classroom and have the hinges on the left, when looking at the door from the hallway.
Price does not include shipping and handling. Orders may be placed online, or by calling us at 360.918.4035.
School Safe® is a simple, inexpensive device that installs on a classroom door or jamb to allow the door to be easily secured in seconds from inside the classroom during a lockdown emergency.
Typically, in the event of a school lockdown emergency, teachers have to go into the hallway to lock their doors. To secure the classroom, they first need to locate their
keys, open the door, go into the hall, get the key in the lock, lock the door, come back inside and close the door. These steps take precious time when time counts most and puts their students and themselves at great risk of exposure to an intruder.
Lockdown Magnet
Easy to install:
Place magnet over strike plate
Put door lock into the locked position
Close door
Open door a few inches when the lockdown is called:
Remove magnet strip
Close Door
http://www.mastergrindingandsecurity.com/lockdown-magnets/
INFORMATIONAL PUBLICATION
SECURITY VS. EXITING... Door Locking Hardware in Schools
DSA Guidelines for Door Locking Hardware in Schools • Revised July, 2011 2
With the acknowledged need for campus security due
to the increase of school violence, numerous questions
have arisen as to what are the acceptable choices in the
California Building Code for door hardware and under
what circumstances may the different types be used?
This document is produced to assist school districts and
design professionals in selecting door hardware for their
projects and answer some of these questions.
• From a security perspective, the most important
function of a door is to control entry. Entry con-
trol involves the configuration, strength, durability,
composition of the door, its hinges and its frame,
and the control and effectiveness of its latching
and locking hardware.
• From the standpoint of fire safety, however, a
door’s exit function is the ruling factor, one that
is highly regulated by the California Building Code
by classifying doors as part of a building’s means
of egress.
“Egress doors shall be readily openable from the egress side without the use of a key or special knowledge or effort.”
Access control is the primary area of conflict between
security and life-safety provisions. While locking outside
doors to prevent people from entering a building is
permissible under Building Code requirements, inhibiting
free egress is not.
The general requirement for exit/egress doors is found
in the 2010 California Building Code (CBC) Section
1008.1.9 which states that, except as specifically
permitted, “Egress doors shall be readily openable
from the egress side without the use of a key or special
knowledge or effort.”
DSA Guidelines for Door Locking Hardware in Schools
A fire can reach over 1000 degrees in less than 5 minutes.
Watch Inferno Video: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/682670/from_living_room_to_inferno_in_under_2_minutes/
DSA Guidelines for Door Locking Hardware in Schools • Revised July, 2011 3
Restraint Locks
Description: Adding a locking device to the exit/
egress side of the door which prohibits exiting the
area or building. Area is classified per CBC as an
“I–3” Occupancy.
Requirements: Multiple, including, but not limited to,
CBC Section 308.4, 408, and Chapter 10.
Examples:
• Quiet Rooms or Holding Rooms until law
enforcement arrives.
• Buildings and Structures whose Occupants are
under restraint.
Electromagnetically Locked Doors
Description: The main purpose of this lock is for
security and monitoring entry. The Electromagnetic lock
incorporates a mechanism to allow remote release. The
release device can be a control trim on the door frame
with a built-in solenoid. The application is permitted for
doors in the means of egress that do not otherwise
require panic hardware.
Examples: This is the most variable part of an access
control systems; it can include several types of card
readers, keypads, or biometric scanners. However
it’s done, the access device is what lets users identify
themselves to the system.
Details of Locking Devices with Definitions, Requirements, & Examples
Holding Cell
Key Number Access
Card Reader
Biometric Finger Print Reader
Biometric 4 Finger Print Reader
Johnathan Doeherty
DSA Guidelines for Door Locking Hardware in Schools • Revised July, 2011 4
Mortise Locksets
Definition: Locks that fit into a mortise in the door
edge and typically feature levers to operate a
latch bolt.
Requirements: New innovations in door hardware
are continuously emerging to meet society’s changing
needs. Take, for example, recent developments in
mortise locking functions specifically designed for the
school environment. One of these, as named by lock
smiths, is the “security classroom” function. A traditional
classroom lockset requires the door to be locked from
the outside, while the inside lever remains operable.
In theory this is great, since unauthorized individuals
cannot enter the room without a key. But it actually
creates vulnerability by forcing the teacher to open the
door, insert their key in the outside cylinder, turn their
key to lock the door and then close the door. This takes
considerable time and may expose the faculty member
to the very danger they are locking the door against.
Example:
A Solution Exists
Imagine the same lockset with a cylinder on the
inside that does the same thing as the cylinder on the
outside, that is, locks the outside lever. You now have a
“security classroom function” lockset that can easily be
locked from inside the room. These are allowed on all
educational classrooms and buildings where operation
of the egress lever hardware is not disabled.
This lock can be purchased as a whole unit or retro fitted into existing locking devices.
* This allowance requires that the locking device is readily distinguishable as locked and a readily visible sign is posted on the egress side on or adjacent to the door which states, “THIS DOOR IS TO REMAIN UNLOCKED WHEN BUILDING IS OCCUPIED”.
** Door must be openable from the inside without a key, special knowledge, use, or effort.
*** Not allowed where panic hardware is required.
**** Gates and door may be padlocked shut when the area is not a portion of normally occupied space.
1. Chain and padlock panic hardware.
2. Have locking hardware on building entrance doors to assemblies and offices.
3. Lock perimeter fencing gates when safe dispersal area is provided.
§1008.1.9.5
§1008.1.9.3(2)*
§442.3 &1008.2.1
4. Lock access gates to safe dispersal area.
5. Have remote total campus lock down for both entrance and exiting/egress.
Is Proposed Action Permitted? YES NO CBC Section
§1008.1.9.5
§1008.1.9.3**
§17075.50** Education Code
7. Install security bars and grilles on any portion of school campus access ways. §1008.1.4.5
8. For group A, E & B ocuupancies install special entrance devices such as cardreader, punch keys, or biometric scanners.
§1008.1.9.8***
9. Have manually operated flush bolts or surface bolts on storage or equipment room inactive door. §1008.1.9.4
10. Install delayed egress locks on assembly or classroom doors. When building has automatic fire sprinklers and meets all criteria of code. §1008.1.9.7
11. Provide padlocks for equipment areas. ****
6. On and after July 1, 2011, all new building construction projects submitted to the Division of the State Architect shall include locks that allow doors to classrooms and any room with an occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the inside. (a) The locks shall conform to the specifications and requirements set forth in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.
(b) Doors that are locked from the outside at all times and pupil restrooms are exempt from the requirements of this section.
See BU 11-05: Impact of AB 211 - Concerning Door Hardware (PDF - 69 KB)
At a Quick Glance
DSA Guidelines for Door Locking Hardware in Schools • Revised July, 2011 6
Contact InformationContact your local Fire Department or State Fire
Marshal’s Office for information concerning changes
in door hardware that may occur after completion of
construction projects.
The State Fire Marshal number is (916) 445-8500.
You are also welcome to contact the Fire & Life
Safety Lead in one of the following regional offices:
DSA Headquarters Office 1102 Q Street, Suite 5100
Sacramento, California 95811
(916) 445-8100
DSA Sacramento Regional Office 1102 Q Street, Suite 5200,
Sacramento, California 95811
(916) 445-8730
DSA Oakland Regional Office 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1201
Oakland, California 94612
(510) 622-3101
DSA Los Angeles Regional Office 700 N. Alameda Street, Suite 5-500
Los Angeles, California 90012
(213) 897-3995
DSA San Diego Regional Office 10920 Via Frontera, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92127
(858) 674-5400
Questions & Answers:
1. Question: How can the school help prevent a
violent person from locking students in a large
room and holding them as hostages?
Answer: Consider replacing older model panic exit
hardware with flush push bar hardware that cannot be
chained shut or otherwise secured against exiting.
2. Question: Why do the National Clearinghouse
for Educational Facilities and others state different
requirements for locks and door hardware than from
what DSA requires?
Answer: When a national publication is a source of
information it may quote standards and codes which
California does not adopt, and also does not include the
California State Fire Marshal Amendments.
3. Question: Is panic hardware available that can be
locked from the inside yet allows exiting from the area?
Answer: Yes, there are a few types and manufacturers
who supply this device.
4. Question: Can we have power-operated doors where
means of egress doors are operated by power, such as
doors with a photoelectric-actuation mechanism to open
the door upon the approach of a person?
Answer: Yes, for group A & B occupancies provided
that the doors are designed with criteria per CBC
Section 1008.1.4.4 Access-controlled egress doors.
5. Question: Can I make all door hardware free
swinging without latching?
Answer: No, if the door is part of a rated wall assembly
it must be positive latching.
SOME LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE ADDING LOCKS TO
CLASSROOM DOORS SINCE SANDY HOOK SHOOTINGS
January 22, 2013 12:00 am • By Jessica Bock
St. Louis Post Dispatch
With one click, Cathy Holway can lock her classroom at Combs Elementary School, securing the
door quickly from the inside, in hopes of protecting her students and herself.
That wasn’t always the case. The Ferguson-Florissant School District began adding new locks to
classroom doors for extra security in 2007, long before the shootings in December at an
elementary school in Connecticut. But in the month following those deaths, several St. Louis-area
school districts are making similar updates.
Locks were the first step the Edwardsville School District took to strengthen its safety and security
measures after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The district installed new classroom
door locks during the winter break. Lindbergh has plans to do so in the next several weeks, and
Rockwood will ask voters for money for the project as part of its bond issue on the April ballot.
In the debate over how to keep our schools safe — with solutions ranging from arming teachers
and principals to banning military-style assault weapons — classroom locks would seem like a
simple step.
Some schools, such as those in the Ferguson-Florissant and Francis Howell districts, have had the
so-called “intruder locks” for years.
At others, teachers cannot lock their doors without stepping into the hallway, or aren’t able to do
so while inside the classroom.
“For me, to be able to lock the door from the inside, this does make it better,” said Holway, who
teaches fourth grade. “It’s an added bonus to all of the security measures.”
Administrators, too, feel as though changing something as simple as the locks can make a
difference. Some of the surviving students and teachers in Newtown, Conn., hid in locked
classrooms during the shooting rampage.
“It’s a new paradigm after what happened” in Newtown, said Eric Cochran, director of curriculum
and student programs for Lindbergh schools. “The first conversation we had was, ‘What can we
do immediately to make sure our kids are as safe as possible?’”
But new hardware comes with a price tag. The project is estimated to cost more than $200,000
for Lindbergh High and Sperreng Middle, the only two schools in the Lindbergh district without
classroom intruder locks. Hazelwood officials are assessing how much it might cost to change
classroom locks at 32 schools and early childhood centers.
Paul Fennewald of the Missouri Center for Education Safety said that, in the case of an intruder,
the best scenario is if a teacher can lock his or her classroom door quickly without stepping into
the hall, then cover windows to the classroom and hide with students.
Schools have a wide range of door-locking options, he said. One school in the Kansas City area has
an automated system that can lock all doors at once.
“It all takes money,” Fennewald said. “That’s not possible in most schools.”
The cost is primarily what has prevented some schools from installing the locks, but concerns
about students locking teachers out of classrooms come up too, he said. Some intruder locks use
keys, and the options vary by price.
Fennewald and other school safety experts are studying a mechanical device that might allow a
teacher to quickly barricade a door, which could be a less expensive option for schools.
“It gets expensive,” said Ann Jarrett, teaching and learning director for the Missouri National
Education Association. “But when they have to step out into the hallway, it impairs their ability to
protect their students.”
Kevin Grubb, owner of Sure Lock & Key in Kirkwood, typically doesn’t get many requests from
schools, but since the shooting in Connecticut, he’s received nearly a dozen calls about classroom
locks.
“It’s definitely got everybody on edge,” he said.
The 20 first-graders and six educators killed Dec. 14 made the attack in Newtown, Conn., the
second-worst school shooting in the country’s history, behind the massacre at Virginia Tech in
2007. But the April 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado spurred many of the
security protocols in place today, buoyed by millions of dollars in federal grants for school safety
announced a year after the killings.
President Barack Obama released his plan last week to make schools safer, including hiring more
school resource officers, psychologists and counselors, as well as buying equipment such as
security cameras and secure locking systems. He is proposing a program that would give schools
$150 million for the extra hires.
Missouri law says schools must have emergency plans in place but does not require regular
reviews or drills. A bill filed in the state Senate would require schools to have all teachers and staff
participate in an active shooter drill each year with police.
Locks are not the only measure districts have taken in the last month. A few schools have extra
police officers. Mehlville added four who will work part time and focus their patrols at elementary
schools. The cost will be $35,000 for the rest of the school year.
And many have tightened security at all school entrances during the day, assessed their
emergency plans and filed updated floor plans with police.
Edwardsville schools are getting panic alarms, and beginning next year, middle and high school
students will be required to wear ID badges.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/some-local-schools-are-adding-locks-to-
classroom-doors-since/article_17af8c3e-5b5d-56f2-b95f-47cda525921d.html